Podcasting without social media with Amelia Hruby
How would you promote your podcast without social media?
In fact, if we think more broadly about this; how would you promote your personal brand or business without social media?
This might leave you scratching your head. We have become so used to relying on social media to help promote ourselves and it feels hard to get off the train..
But as we all know, we don’t “own” these platforms. Well, unless you're Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk perhaps. But if you’re a normal person, you’re playing to the algorithm. You’re doing what you’re told to do, and you’re probably seeing decent enough results.
Or maybe you’re not.
It depends on how you define “results.
If you weren’t seeing results, you’d get off social media right?
Well, that sounds good in theory, but it doesn’t happen as often as we might like.
We’ve all become reliant on social media to spread the word about our businesses, podcasts and keep up with what’s going on, but I wonder how many of us actually want to be using these platforms.
As podcasters, social media has been found to be quite an effective tool. A recent study done by Edison Research found that 76% of Gen Z say they discover podcasts through clips on social media.
So if we don’t use social media, how do we promote our podcasts?
I recently had the pleasure of chatting with the supremely talented Amelia Hruby.
Amelia is the founder and executive producer at Softer Sounds, a feminist podcast studio based in the USA. Her background stretches into academia, community organising, and broadcasting. And Amelia is an advocate for getting off social media.
Her podcast, "Off The Grid," explores the theme of leaving social media while still maintaining an online presence, offering a refreshing take on digital wellness and creative marketing strategies. If you’re intrigued by this notion, I encourage you to go and give this show a listen. Her voice is also an absolute dream to listen to.
My conversation with Amelia truly made me think about the significance of embracing authenticity, creative freedom, and self-trust in the podcasting space. By sharing her journey of leaving social media and finding success through "Off The Grid" and her newsletter, Amelia inspired us to challenge conventional norms and explore alternative avenues for content creation and audience building.
Podcasting is not just about sharing stories; it's about cultivating connections, sparking conversations, and embracing the beauty of human expression. Amelia's journey exemplifies the transformative power of creativity, resilience, and passion in the world of podcasting.
Transcript:
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[00:00:00] Brianna: Today we are chatting to Amelia Hruby, who is kind of like a U. S. me. Like she has a company very similar to ours, based in the USA. And I really wanted to chat to her because she is a different character.
[00:00:17] Amelia has a podcast studio called Softer Sounds, which I just, I love already. Her voice, by the way, is beautiful to listen to. She has a podcast of her own. She's also a writer, educator, and has a PhD in philosophy. Over the past decade, she's been a university professor, a community organizer, a radio DJ.
[00:00:40] Now she is the founder and executive producer at Softer Sounds. a feminist podcast studio that supports women and non binary small business owners. She's also the host of the Off The Grid podcast. This podcast has such a quirky, cool, fun theme song as well, which was kind of what drew me to it in the first place.
[00:01:01] I just thought it was really cool. I hadn't heard anything like that and it was made for her show, which I'm all for having something that's really branded and just for you. The thing that really sets Amelia apart is she's building her business off social media. She used to have Instagram and all the things, and now she doesn't.
[00:01:21] And I wanted to chat to her a little bit about that, you know, talking about how you can still build without having a social media following, how you can still connect with your audience. Podcasting Obviously is a great way to do that. And so we do touch on that social media element, but more broadly, we're talking about podcasting and the world of it.
[00:01:41] And I think that you'll really enjoy this episode because she has a wealth of knowledge because she's been doing it a while and because she's an industry expert. So someone just like me in a different country, we talk a lot about the industry and I hope that you enjoy the conversation. Let's get [00:02:00] Amelia on.
[00:02:00] Amelia, thanks so much for being here today. I have a question for you right off the bat. You have such a beautiful voice. So I've been listening to you now for a while since we first connected, uh, and I knew I was going to have you on my show. I've been listening to your content and have just been been in love with how good you sound, you just sound nice.
[00:02:31] You've got a really nice tone. What's your background from that point of view? Like, are you a singer or did you do theater or tell me a bit about that.
[00:02:42] Amelia: Well, I received that compliment and appreciate it fully. And I have no vocal background other than being a human who talks so I did not sing growing up I was never in theater, but I did come to podcasting through community radio.
[00:03:02] So I was on the mic at the radio station and I definitely picked up some of the radio voice cadence. It was not a commercial station. It was not in the US like an NPR public radio station. It was just a nice little like group of Chicago folks who loved music, but I had an on air show every Tuesday morning for two years before I moved into podcasting.
[00:03:25] And I think I just got comfortable on the mic, which is such a big step that people underestimate being able to speak comfortably and confidently. Like it's such a skill.
[00:03:36] Brianna: It absolutely is. And I think that was one of the things that first drew me to, cause I don't have a lot of people on the pump up your pod podcast.
[00:03:43] It's mostly a show about. Um, helping podcasters be better at their craft and tips and all that sort of jazz. But when I came to you, I just felt like you knew what you were doing. And I think that that is something that is going to be really valuable in [00:04:00] this conversation. So yeah, I just wanted to give you props for having a beautiful voice that you know how to control and just for context as well for people, what are you using to record with there?
[00:04:13] And I would. What microphone is that? And you have, it's an XLR. What is it plugged into?
[00:04:17] Amelia: Yeah. So I have a Shure SM58 mic, which is a vocal performance mic. So that's going to be the one you see like at concerts is this mic. And then I have it plugged into a Zoom H5 recorder. That's acting as the audio interface.
[00:04:32] And that's just plugged right into my computer for the recording. So I actually got this kit because I, my first podcast after the radio station was doing field interviews. I was traveling around the U S interviewing feminist activists and artists. And so I needed an audio kit that was super portable, and that I could really like transport and set up in any environment.
[00:04:54] I did interviews on picnic tables, in random offices, I did one in somebody's car. So that's kind of how I landed on this setup. And then I've just stuck with it even as I've moved to primarily recording in my home office now. I
[00:05:08] Brianna: love that because the Shure SM58 is probably the most It's a podcast used microphone from a live perspective.
[00:05:17] It is a really sturdy mic. It's inexpensive. You've got like a nice extra kind of pop filter on top, like a nice foam thing for people that are only listening to the podcast, but you can hear how. Clear Amelia is she's right close to the microphone and I'll put links to those things so that you know What we mean by the zoom h5 as well.
[00:05:38] Yeah. Okay, great All right, so that's good to know how to achieve the Amelia sound I want to talk to you today about your show off the grid which you launched on the 3rd of March 2022 so it's not a super old show Why did you decide to launch that show at that time?
[00:05:59] Amelia: Off the [00:06:00] Grid is a show about leaving social media without losing all your clients, as I like to say.
[00:06:05] But it's a show for artists, business owners, creative people who want to step back or away from social media and still share their work and still grow an audience online. So that's the work I'm invested in. And I launched the show Just about a year after I left social media, so I had a whole decade long journey growing an Instagram platform working as a micro influencer.
[00:06:32] I got a book deal, I sold a book, and by the end of those 10 years, I was really burnt out on sharing my work on Instagram. I was really frustrated by the algorithm, and I decided to step back. away entirely. So I archived my accounts. And a few months later, I launched softer sounds, which is my podcast studio that I now run full time.
[00:07:00] And in that process, people just kept asking me, how did you leave social media? Like, how did you do it? Like I, Always joke that between summer 2020 and summer 2021, I finished my PhD, I moved states, I got married, I adopted dogs, I did all these huge life events. And the only thing people wanted to know about was how I left social media.
[00:07:23] Like it was the one thing they couldn't. Imagine. So I launched off the grid because people just kept asking. And having been off social for about a year at that point, I felt like I really had some things to say about why I left and how I left and the success I was finding on the other side of it. Yeah.
[00:07:43] Brianna: And it's so powerful because social media is so ingrained. Now, and everyone uses it and everyone is on it all the time and it's so frustrating to have to do it, you know, so for us, well, for [00:08:00] me personally, I didn't get on Instagram or any social media really until clients requested that I do so probably three years ago, I think maybe now, and that was a huge deal for me because probably like you, it just felt like I don't need this.
[00:08:19] You know, this is an extra thing I have to manage. And then from there it's like LinkedIn and it's all these other platforms and TikTok, and there's always a new thing and Facebook and all the things, right? And when you think about traditionally, we didn't always have these tools and people still had very big, businesses that they would perfectly find it running without social media.
[00:08:44] So I think your podcast is really interesting because it is making people think about the way they consume and the way they spread their work in a really different way to what we are told. At this stage, so if that kind of thing interests you as a listener, as a watcher, I would definitely recommend going and checking out Amelia's podcast, because it's just refreshing from here.
[00:09:11] I then want to know, how do you think you have changed or your business, probably both since starting the off the grid podcast?
[00:09:22] Amelia: Wow. I mean, so much has changed since it began. A big shift that I have seen both personally and professionally is that when I left social media, I was really prepared to, like, be forgotten by everyone and have to fight so hard to ever find clients.
[00:09:39] Like, I had all these stories in my head that without social media, no one would ever find me and it would be really hard to attract new clients. And, uh, Those were all false. It wasn't actually true for me at all. But I think that it's been really interesting to see that off [00:10:00] the grid has by far been the most successful creative project that I've launched.
[00:10:04] It's like my fourth podcast. It's the most successful of those. It's more successful than my book. It's more successful than anything I was selling or teaching when I was still on social media. And I think a lot of that comes from really stepping Off the beaten path and into, like, my own lane, as I like to think of it, doing something people don't think you can do, and showing that you can do it, and then laying out those, like, narratives that were going through my mind and unpacking how they were untrue.
[00:10:38] And also doing that in a really practical way, like I don't bring a lot of magical thinking you can manifest anything vibe to this. I try to be really gently tough on all of us in some ways, like, like I always say on the podcast. You don't have to be on social media, but you do have to market your work.
[00:11:00] It doesn't get you out of marketing. When I left social media, I had to shut down the business I had and start a totally new one that worked better. You know, I was running like a small courses and products company. I was making a few thousand dollars a year doing it. And I was like, this will not survive off of social media.
[00:11:18] There's no way. And so I launched a B2B services business. And now It's thriving, like it provides my full time income and takes care of me and my family and my tiny little team and it's fantastic, but I think to get back to your question, like what I really noticed that has changed is so many stories within myself about what's possible for me.
[00:11:39] So much more self trust that I have now. I find that social media just eroded my self trust. I thought I had to see what 20 other people were doing anytime I wanted to do anything and now I just do what I want to do and it's fine. Those things together, like more possibility and more self trust [00:12:00] have just made my work so much better and so much more magnetic.
[00:12:05] Like people are so much more interested in what I'm doing, I think, because they can sense that I really believe in possibility, and I work toward it, and I give myself permission to do and have the things that I desire. And that's really what draws people in to the podcast, to the business, and toward me.
[00:12:26] And as such, I have had no trouble finding clients or growing an audience or doing any of those things I struggled with so much before I left social media and launched off the
[00:12:34] Brianna: grid. This is a very powerful point for people to take away. In the podcasting space, there is a degree of creativity that you need, I think, to actually be successful in this space.
[00:12:51] You can't just spout the same thing that everyone else talks about. It has to have your creative flair in it to really land with the audience that you're trying to attract. And what Amelia has said there really rings true to that because When has she stepped away from the comparisons that she's seen on social media, the shoulds, stuff that happens when you're looking and consuming content, and also the time suck that it creates.
[00:13:25] When you step away from all of that, And you, let's say you don't completely get off social media, but you limit yourself to 30 minutes a day. How much stuff will you get done with all that extra time? And for creativity to flow, you need to be able to give yourself space for that creativity to flow. Just sit with that for a minute, listeners, people watching.
[00:13:53] Do you allow yourself time and space to think creatively about the pursuit of podcasting [00:14:00] to get a better result for yourself and for those you're trying to reach? From a content perspective then, for you, how do you decide what episodes you actually want to release? Like, do you do research into that?
[00:14:13] Are you on a whim? Do you pre plan? Are you batching content? Where does your Ideation come from?
[00:14:22] Amelia: I collect ideas all the time. I am always keeping my list of random thoughts. I have a very long running list. I am a notion user. So I have a whole dashboard for my podcast. I have a whole section of that dashboard.
[00:14:40] That's just for ideas. And that's where I put, you know, people I see online that maybe I want to talk to and links to their work. I put ideas of my own that I have. I also put questions from listeners there. And I really do try to stay in touch with what my listeners are asking me. I try to be really, really responsive because I do believe the show stems from like my creative spark and I am Shepherding and guiding the show, but it's also not about me.
[00:15:09] The end of the day, the show is of service to the community that listens to and supports it. And so I pay a lot of attention to the episodes they like the most, the responses I get to emails, the voice messages I get from listeners, and also like my friends who listen, I pay attention to like, what are the episodes that get them to actually text me and be like, I need to talk to you about this, right?
[00:15:34] And so I can go deeper in those directions. All of that is happening. I'm just like collecting this very long list of ideas. And then I kind of shape the season as I go. So generally, I do batch, but I batch in like three or four episodes, like small, small. chunks of episodes. So when I go to launch a season, I generally have three to five episodes completed, and they are ready scheduled to go out with the [00:16:00] launch.
[00:16:00] And then I'm kind of paying attention to the feedback I'm getting those first couple weeks. And then I plan the next batch of four to six episodes. I also Like to do interviews, because my voice is not the only important one on this topic, especially lots of people, especially now are leaving social media.
[00:16:18] And I just provide so much marketing advice on the show. I'm not an expert in every marketing channel. So I need other people to come tell me what they know. So I tend to plan those interviews in advance, invite people on and then kind of schedule them to like the actual episode to go live depending on the other content I produce.
[00:16:37] I record the interviews as people schedule them. But for solo episodes, I tend to also batch record those like I will kind of have a topic idea. I will sit with it for days or weeks, even like letting it kind of digest and then I'll write an outline. And then I get on the mic and I record, sometimes I'll record the same episode two or three times, I have a really high standard of quality for myself.
[00:17:01] And I can always tell if it doesn't flow, it's not going to be good. Like if I can't, if I'm stopping and starting too much, if I don't get excited, if I'm not like laughing at myself, which I do all the time on the podcast, it's been pointed out to me, I laugh at myself a lot. If I'm not feeling that Energy while I'm recording, that means the listeners aren't going to feel it either.
[00:17:22] So if I do a whole recording and it like falls flat, I'll redo it. I'll scrap the episode. I also listen back to all of my solo episodes at least twice before they go live. And I recut and I adjust with the interviews. I have somebody on my team, edit them. And then I listen and recut as needed. Like it's a really involved process.
[00:17:43] Which I guess I've never explained anywhere until this moment right here. But I think that that's been a shift as well. Like in season one, when I was just getting started, I was like recording, releasing, it was very loose. I was just letting it live. But now that the listener base has grown, I feel like my [00:18:00] finger is much closer to the pulse.
[00:18:01] And I'm always trying to elevate my craft. And I'm always trying to get better and sound better and serve the listeners better. It's
[00:18:08] Brianna: like you feel More responsible. I think when it gets a little bit bigger, you just feel like you've got more people listening and you want to make sure that it's landing.
[00:18:16] Not that you shouldn't always have a high standard for yourself, but certainly in the first season of anything or the first, let's say, you know, 50 episodes or 40 episodes, you kind of still finding your feet a little bit too. And I think it's fine. Like it's good to still be figuring it out. If you're not figuring it out, then what are you doing?
[00:18:36] So I definitely agree with that. I also really liked that point where you're talking about how you listen back to what you've done. And in fact, I have a podcast episode coming out next week, which will be launched by the time we have this conversation, where I say that specifically. Where, especially if you're editing your own stuff, like if you're a DIY podcaster, and it's not something that you're great at, perhaps even, a lot of the time DIY podcasters get too involved in cutting out the ums and the awkwardness and the little things, but they're not going big picture on, is this boring?
[00:19:22] Am I enjoying listening to this? And if I'm not, why would someone else be enjoying listening? Like I delivered the content. So editing, going back and listening to your work is so important for creative growth.
[00:19:38] Amelia: Yeah. I think so many people get stuck at that. Like, I don't want to listen to myself or like, they get that sort of creeping feeling up their spine when they listen to their own voice.
[00:19:48] But I'm a big believer that it's really important to sit with and then kind of process and push through that. It's okay to recognize it. It happens to everyone, but you can learn to love [00:20:00] your voice. And I think if you want to be a successful podcaster, you should because you're right. You should be listening to yourself.
[00:20:07] It's doesn't feel like work to listen back to the show. You know, I edit the episodes, most of them myself, and then I just put it on my phone. I go for a walk and I listen. And I noticed like, where did I zone out? Where did I stop? Yeah, all those things. Where did I zone out from what I was saying? Did I re engage myself fast enough with a joke or a change of topic or something?
[00:20:28] Like, that's how I get better. That's how I improve. And I think the episodes are so much better. We just crossed 50 episodes of Off the Grid, and they're way better than the first episode. But even from episode one, I was very focused on what are the takeaways for the listener? And how can I be really clear?
[00:20:47] And that actually comes from my background in teaching. I taught at a university for five years. And so I'm really accustomed to this teaching and public speaking skill, where what you do is you tell everybody what you're going to tell them, you tell it to them, and then you recap it. It works so well in podcasting and so Many podcasters don't do it, and we should all be doing it, everyone.
[00:21:09] I'm sorry. Everyone should be doing that on their podcast, unless it's a fiction show. That's a separate thing. But like, if you're just chatting, or you're on a solo episode, you should be doing that. Tell it, say it, recap it. So
[00:21:21] Brianna: good. And I completely agree. Okay, so shifting gears then now, what aspects of your podcast do you not enjoy doing?
[00:21:33] Amelia: This is a great question. When it comes to my own show, I kind of like most of them, all of them. I don't love promoting episodes. I don't like making promotional graphics. And a great part of not being on social media is I don't have to. They don't go anywhere, so I don't make them anymore. I do make a little tile for guests on guest episodes if they want to share it, but it's been a real relief to like [00:22:00] release that from the process.
[00:22:01] We do it for clients at the studio, but I don't do it for my own show. I share the show through email, and then it's grown through word of mouth and through mentions by people with much bigger followings than me. So that's probably my least favorite part, but I really love everything from the idea phase through the publishing stage.
[00:22:20] Some of the promotional stuff, maybe not so much, but I also love what like talking to listeners and like when they circle back and they find it and they land in my inbox. I love that piece as well. If we're talking about what I don't like doing for clients, the list is much longer, but that's that's separate than my own personal show.
[00:22:37] Well, that's
[00:22:37] Brianna: really good, actually. Like What you've done there is you've kind of minimized what you don't like anyway from the podcast to just focus on all the things that you do enjoy doing. And I guess maybe the takeaway there for people who are on social media who do have podcasts and do need to promote and all the things.
[00:22:55] But don't like doing aspects of your show, no matter what it is. Editing, promoting, doing graphics, whatever. Outsource it, as soon as you physically can, because when you outsource, that will like, allow you to get a bit of that creative freedom back, because you're not thinking about the stuff that you hate doing.
[00:23:16] And then doing it because you
[00:23:17] Amelia: know, you have to, if you don't have the budget to outsource, you can get support in other ways. Like support can be a step between doing it yourself and outsourcing. What I mean by that is like getting an accountability buddy. hiring someone just to do your content planning with you if you can't afford for them to take over way more of the process, you know, finding someone who will make those graphics, if that's your sticking point, or setting a time where you and your best podcaster friend are going to make graphics together every month.
[00:23:44] Like, I work with a lot of people who are more like DIY wires and just getting started and don't quite have the budget for full outsourcing. And I think There are just so many ways to be creative and how you bring in support as well. And that's what's going to help your show keep growing so you can afford to [00:24:00] outsource.
[00:24:00] Brianna: Yeah, you've got to have something that's holding you accountable to keep going for sure. What about this conversation around video podcasting versus audio podcasting? Where do you sit on that fence? Where are you at with it? I'd love to know.
[00:24:18] Amelia: Yeah. So I am an audio podcaster, for sure. For season one of Off the Grid, it is all on video as well.
[00:24:27] I was like, really riding a wave. And I just did one take of all the episodes. And those one takes went live, which was kind of wild. They're actually very good. But now I need a little more time to like, pause and think about it. As I record, I think I talk about some more complex things now. But I love when other people make video podcasts, but I just video editing is not for me.
[00:24:52] It is truly. I have no interest in it. It's possible that we'll bring somebody on at the studio to start doing that work for other people, but I will never be video editing video podcasting myself. Well, I certainly cheer on other people going down that path. Yes,
[00:25:09] Brianna: good. And keeping to the zone that you enjoy, I think, is the main point there as well.
[00:25:15] It's fine to want to do all the things, but then you've got to think about, well, how am I going to do all the things? Do I even want to do all the things? And why did I get into podcasting in the first place? Was it to be on video? Probably not. It was probably to enjoy the audio experience. I like the mystery that the audio experience provides.
[00:25:35] So you don't know what they look like necessarily. You don't know where they are. You don't know anything. And it allows you to just go into your own little world and imagine it's kind of like reading a book in the same way that you can just imagine. So audio for me will always be my first love. Video just feels like it's.
[00:25:53] Necessary, I think, in a lot of ways at this point, depending on the audience you're trying to reach. Your [00:26:00] top three favorite podcasts that you listen to at the moment,
[00:26:05] Amelia: lay them on me. Yes. So I'm really into the BBC's podcast, Witch, which came out this year about the history of witches. I have just started it for spooky season in October and loved that one.
[00:26:25] Love the podcast Normal Gossip, which is a show about gossip, like the random stories we like soak up and eat up in our daily lives. Like that weird thing your neighbor's doing that you've never figured out, but like, you need to tell somebody about it. Like, they really bring that through and I love the stories they tell.
[00:26:45] I'm always behind. I like savor the episodes like a treat for me. It's like a podcast dessert. I love it so much. And then We just wrapped production on a new show the studio has been working on called glow in the dark, which is hosted by a serious XM host Tracy G. And it's just really great conversations about wellness about spirituality about friendship hosted by Tracy and her best friend Girdley.
[00:27:17] And it's just like kind of from this perspective of being like badass black women who live in New York. And I really enjoyed working on that show. So that's another one that's been like top of mind recently. Oh, okay.
[00:27:29] Brianna: I'm going to put all these ones in the show notes and on our website and everything so that you can go and listen to those if they sound good to you.
[00:27:37] Normal gossip to me sounds really fun. And I love the spooky stuff as well.
[00:27:42] Amelia: Yeah, they're both those are both shows I listen to and like, I learned from their craft, you know, like sometimes it's hard to find time to listen to podcasts when I'm producing and editing so much, but I really try to make time to hear other shows because I can't get better [00:28:00] if I'm not learning from what other people are doing.
[00:28:02] So valuable.
[00:28:03] Brianna: That's so true. That's so good. I really enjoyed this conversation, Amelia. I think that you are just a joy, really, as far as when I listen to what you're providing, the fact that you're doing it in a non conventional way at this point, I just think it's great. And I look forward to seeing where you go next.
[00:28:21] I am a subscriber to the, certainly to the show, a follower of the show. And if this has been a good conversation for you to listen to. Please go and check out Amelia as well and just be with me on the fact that her voice is so beautiful. You could probably just do the ABCs on every episode. Just say ABCDFG and just really nicely ASMR style and I would just love it.
[00:28:46] You don't even have to do anything else.
[00:28:48] Amelia: That's very sweet. I have considered my next career maybe will be in ASMR. These are thoughts I've had. Just whispering.
[00:28:54] Brianna: Exactly. It's great. Thanks so much for joining us. And yeah, that's
[00:28:57] Amelia: it. Thanks for having me.
WHERE TO FIND AMELIA:
Free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
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Aputure Amaran 200d LED Video Light
